Eritrea: Drafts new round of military recruits

(SomaliNet) Boosting what is already estimated to be the largest army in sub-Saharan Africa, Eritrea\'s annual batch of conscripts has begun their compulsory military training, officials said on Thursday.

A statement on the information ministry website said Teenagers from across the country have been sent to the Sawa Military Training Centre in western Eritrea to \"fulfil their national obligation\".

Eritreans stress the national service training is a long established tradition independent of current tension with arch-foe Ethiopia.

But, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi last week said Ethiopia had beefed up its army over concerns of a possible attack from Eritrea.

Eritrea - which denies acting aggressively - fought a bitter 30-year liberation war against Ethiopia, and remains in a tense standoff after a bloody 1998-2000 border war.

All boys and girls must complete their final year of high school at Sawa alongside tough military instruction.

Most children seemed excited - if nervous - at leaving, singing and beating the side of the bus as they left in convoy through the city.

Tough security checks and surprise roundups mean that those who fail to attend will be sent forcefully later, facing potentially heavy punishment.

\"We are off for our national service, it is what we have to do,\" said one 16-year old boy, speaking before boarding a bus to Sawa.

This batch - the 21st round since Eritrea\'s independence from Ethiopia in 1993 - follows the graduation of about 15 000 military recruits last week.

Opposition websites reported that former recruits have also been called up for retraining.

All men up to the age of 50 and women up to the age of 40 in the central region around Asmara now employed in the private sector must report to a military camp in Eritrea\'s Northern Red Sea region, the websites said.

Eritrea, a small country of 4,2 million people, has the largest army in sub-Saharan Africa with an estimated 202 000 troops, according to the UN Development Programme.

The second-largest is Ethiopia, a far larger country of 75,6 million inhabitants with an army of an estimated 183 000 troops.

Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki, speaking at a graduation ceremony in Sawa last Saturday, warned recruits \"still greater efforts in the future\" would be needed, according to state-run media. - Sapa-AFP